Model of an Effective Conference

 

Purpose

 

          Teach the writer, not the writing (Calkins, 2003; Ray & Cleaveland, 2004). Sometimes I want to make the writing better

 

with our teaching, but that’s not the point. Cleaveland (2004) writes that the point is to make the writer better.  Calkins (2003)

 

writes that what matters most in these conferences is that I explain why the technique makes sense in the child’s writing and

 

how it will make the writing better.  Without this explanation, the writing may get better, but the writer won’t have learned

 

anything she might be able to use again on another piece of writing in the future (Ray & Cleaveland, 2004).  Calkins (2003)

 

suggests that when I confer with a student, it isn’t my job to fix or edit the student’s writing.  Rather, it’s to teach the student a

 

writing strategy or technique they can use in a current piece or writing and continue to use in future writing.  As I confer, keep

 

in mind, teaching the writer and not the writing.  Our decisions must be guided by what might help this writer rather than

 

what might help this writing (Calkins, 1994). First I listen, then name what it is I see them doing well and end with a little

 

nudge.

 

Listen, Teach and Nudge

 

          I must be thoughtful about when I’m talking too much.  Listening is a hard skill.  Listening to children is more a

 

deliberate act than a natural one.  It isn’t easy to put aside personal preferences, anxieties about helping more children, or the

 

glaring, mechanical error that stares from the page (Anderson, 2000).  The point is not to ask question after question: the point

 

is to watch and listen-sometimes observing for quite a while before saying anything (Ray & Glover 2008).  When I’ve watched

 

teachers who are good at conferring, I’ve noticed that their conversations with students are shaped through listening,

 

because these teachers know in general how they want their conversations with students to go.   Once they’ve been in several

 

conferences the talk flows easily and naturally and both the teacher and student hold up their end of the talk (Anderson,

 

2000).  Glover (2009) suggests that another way I can help my students hold up their end of the conversation and make

 

decisions in their writing might be to listen carefully to children when they are talking informally as well.  Basically, anything

 

that a child can talk about is something they can write about (Glover, 2009).  Encourage them to talk it out, listen for whether

 

they know enough about the topic and guide them in thinking about a topic that interests them (Heard & McDonough, 2009). 

 

  It is important for my students to know that I’m interested in what they have to say and what they already know as a writer

 

(Hindley, 1996). 

 

          Just like a story reaches the climax, a conference builds to the teaching moment.  My success in helping a student grow

 

as a writer in a conference depends on my skill as a teacher in the next few minutes.  Bomer (2010) suggests naming at least

 

three things I can find to compliment my students in their piece.  I name exactly what it is they are doing well.  I push past

 

surface features like paragraphs and subject/verb agreement, and labels from writing rubrics, like sequenced, organized, and

 

detailed to more descriptive language (Bomer, 2010).  When hearing their voice in a piece, I might suggest that their writing is

 

so comfortable, it’s as if you are sitting across the table keeping me company (Bomer, 2010).    After naming a detail I might

 

say, when you write about the video game rushing at you from the screen, then yanking to the left and swirling to the right, it

 

almost made me sick to my stomach (Bomer, 2010).  While rubrics and standards might have an evaluative function of

 

measurement, it might limit what we notice and name about the genuine craft our students accomplish in their writing.  It

 

would be far better to imitate how writers talk about their work so that we can apply language that is more descriptive and

 

concrete.  By using more elegant and sophisticated language for naming what our students are doing, I can actually teach

 

them what to reach for as they compose and revise, and how to articulate their writing processes (Bomer, 2010).   I believe

 

that our words can make a difference as a teacher (Hindley, 1996). 

 

          When working side-by-side with writers, Glover (2008) suggests nudging development along, not push it or force it.  The

 

goal of the teaching, in addition to moving development forward, is to leave children with energy and enthusiasm for the

 

whole idea of making books (Ray & Glover, 2008).  Before the end of a conference Ray (2008) suggests helping my student try

 

the strategy or technique I taught them.  Gently nudge the student to talk out how he could use the strategy in his writing,

 

or have the student try it in writing.  I give the students a taste of the strategy so that I know they are ready to try it

 

independently (Anderson, 2015).  That is, I nudge students to figure out what strategies or techniques will help them do what

 

they want to do as writers, or how they can better use the strategies or techniques they’re already using (Anderson, 2000).  At

 

the end of these conferences, I want to be able to say, I helped Cameron realize he could staple another piece of paper to his

 

draft so he could add on to his story or I helped Ashley figure out there are other ways to write narratives than starting with,

 

"One day".